Happily Ever After
by AmhFluffy
Summary: A different Bella.


I do not own Twilight.

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"Bella, please listen."

Edward Cullen stood next to a fallen tree, his face hard as he prepared himself for what must be done.

Bella's hands fluttered in time with her words, illustrating her concerns, "Can't we wait until the school year is out? What would I say to Charlie-"

"Bella, you are not listening to me. _We_ are not leaving – you and I."

Her mouth shut with an audible click of teeth. She had been excited for a moment, but now she was just confused. Edward clenched his jaw.

"We are leaving, as in my family and myself." Bella's eyes widened and she turned herself fully towards him, searching his face in a lost manner.

"Oh," was all she said. The syllable echoed painfully in Edward's too-sensitive ears.

"It seems that these – _feelings_ – which I have had towards you in the past months have," he struggled for the words as he stared at the damp canopy above, "vanished completely." It was a blatant lie, hollow and foul on his tongue and as it hung in the air between them.

Bella's mouth dropped open a fraction, forming a misshapen 'O', her delicate brow furrowed over large, disbelieving eyes. She went limp and slipped off of the tree, landing with a muted squeak on a moss covered rock. Edward forced himself to walk slowly – don't run – to her side. He arched an eyebrow at her, displaying thinly masked amusement and impatience in place of the concern that flitted through his mind. He needed this to work, needed her to believe him. Edward slipped into a mildly patronizing tone as he spoke down to her shadowed face.

"You can't even stay upright without help, Bella Swan. What could I possibly gain from staying with you?"

Bella was shaking, and Edward could smell her salty tears as they fell and soaked into the greenery. His entire being pleaded for him to just let it go. Screamed for him to drop to the wet forest floor and hold her close, begging for her forgiveness. She was his sweet, precious Bella, and he was hurting her.

'No,' he told himself, 'knowing that she's alive, no matter where she was, will have to be enough'. Even if he was not there to witness her happiness, she _would_ be happy. He would make sure of this.

So he stood and watched passively as she struggled to stand, her head down and turned away. She brushed the tears off her pale cheeks and wiped her palms on her sweater. In a nervous gesture, she half turned to check the seat of her pants for mud.

Edward observed this all with a feeling of impending despair. He hadn't known that she would take it this so very _quietly_. Part of him wished that she would argue, that she would lengthen the time he had left to spend with her. She was beautiful when she was angry. He didn't want to remember Bella as this broken girl, a puppet with cut strings. He wanted to remember the blazing, intriguing spitfire of a woman that she had become during their time together. Why was she making this so excruciatingly _easy_?

Bella looked a ghost, she was so pale. Her lips trembled, the fire in her eyes was dim beneath the gathering tears. With a small huff of air, comprehension flickered across her face before she faced her back towards him, her shoulders shook. It took all of his self control to stop from reaching over. He wanted to see her face so badly, even as it cut daggers through his still heart.

Bella laughed.

He stared dumbly as she giggled. Hesitantly, Edward grasped her shoulders lightly and spun her around, scrutinizing her face. It seemed to be a mix between amusement and resignation.

Mystified and beginning to anger, he posed his query in a low growl, "What_ exactly_ do you find so funny, Bella?"

She seemed to sober slightly, tilting her head in a manner that asked '_you don't know?'_

Seeing his continued confusion, she smiled sardonically and responded in a light tone, "I was wondering when you were going to get around to breaking my heart, Edward Cullen."

Edward's hands shot back from her shoulders as if stung and his face contorted to show a deep-seeded pain before his face turned passive. Nothing would sway him; he had to protect Bella, even if it is from himself.

Almost visibly gathering his thoughts, Edward schooled his expression into one of boredom. His tone mirrored his efforts, "Then I suppose your wait is over, Bella."

With one last look at the young woman that he loved with all of his stone carved heart, Edward Cullen vanished down the winding forest path.

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AN: Cleaning out my writing folder. I am willing to work on developing any of the oneshot/teasers I post, lemme know.


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